People uses a mobile phone in front of an electronic stock indicator of a securities firm in Tokyo, Tuesday, March 21, 2017. Asian shares were mixed in lackluster trading on Tuesday, as markets searched for a dominant theme, weighing currency fluctuations, signs of growing protectionism and other uncertainties. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

Men look at an electronic stock indicator of a securities firm in Tokyo, Tuesday, March 21, 2017. Asian shares were mixed in lackluster trading on Tuesday, as markets searched for a dominant theme, weighing currency fluctuations, signs of growing protectionism and other uncertainties. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

People walk past an electronic stock indicator of a securities firm in Tokyo, Tuesday, March 21, 2017. Asian shares were mixed in lackluster trading on Tuesday, as markets searched for a dominant theme, weighing currency fluctuations, signs of growing protectionism and other uncertainties. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

People walk past an electronic stock indicator of a securities firm in Tokyo, Tuesday, March 21, 2017. Asian shares were mixed in lackluster trading on Tuesday, as markets searched for a dominant theme, weighing currency fluctuations, signs of growing protectionism and other uncertainties. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude added 34 cents to $48.56 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 39 cents to $52.01 a barrel in London. Both contracts had fallen in recent days amid reports that supply and stocks are high in the U.S., potentially offsetting the impact of an output trim by OPEC countries agreed on last year.

CURRENCIES: The pickup in the price of oil helped keep a lid on the dollar, which often moves inversely to the price of energy. The euro was up 0.6 percent on the day against the dollar, at $1.0809. The U.S. currency was roughly flat against the yen, at 112.57 yen. The pound jumped 0.8 percent higher at $1.2461 after high inflation figures in Britain raised the prospect of interest rate increases sooner rather than later. Higher rates tend to support a currency.

JAPAN JITTERS: Shares came under selling pressure following a public holiday on Monday, as a weakening of the U.S. dollar against the yen added to worries over protectionist moves under U.S. President Donald Trump. The omission of the customary pledge to avoid protectionism from a statement by the Group of 20 major economies over the weekend underscored the challenges to free trade that have coincided with Trump's vows to rewrite trade deals.